Last night, the Brit Awards and glorious red carpet returned to our screens, celebrating the best and brightest in the music industry. And while stalwarts like Adele, Little Mix and Billie Eilish were all in attendance, the 2022 ceremony featured one notable difference: genre-based, not gender-based, categories.

Awards like “best female” and “male artist” were replaced by “best artist,” and despite the government’s culture secretary Nadine Dorries warning that women would become ‘disenfranchised’ by the move, history was made as women or female-fronted acts received 10 out of 15 overall awards.

The unsurprising runaway winner of the year was Adele, who took home the prizes for artist of the year, album of the year for her fourth record, 30, and British song of the year for its lead single, Easy On Me.

Collecting the award for best artist, Adele said: “I understand why they changed the name of this award [from best female/male artist], but I really love being a woman, I really love being a female artist.”

Other important wins included Wolf Alice taking home best group, independent London rapper Little Simz being named best new artist, Billie Eilish winning best international artist and Olivia Rodrigo’s Good 4 U being named as best international song.

Simz dedicated her speech to “all the kids dreaming.” Taking the stage with her mum, she said: “Anyone that is watching this at home, I am living proof that if you work hard at something – no matter where you come from, no matter your background, no matter your race. You can do something extraordinary…Keep dreaming, keep pushing.”

Ed Sheeran took home songwriter of the year, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak’s Silk Sonic scooped international group and Dave was awarded the hip-hop/grime/rap act award.

When they were announced back in December, the 2022 awards had already featured the most women nominees in over a decade, including artists Joy Crookes, Doja Cat, Taylor Swift and Bree Runway.

The change to the gendered categories followed the 2021 ceremony, after non-binary singer Sam Smith’s gender identity meant they couldn’t be nominated in the male or female artist awards.

Images: Getty